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Mark IV Laser Rapier
The Mark VI Laser Rapier is a weapon featured in System Shock 2 and is the upgraded version of the TS-04 Laser Rapier appeared in System Shock. This weapon works by projecting a porous field of reflective material in a shaft shaped region around its base. When it strikes a target, the material will be bent and the intense refracted light inside will be released locally, causing intense burns to the target. Like every melee weapon, the Laser Rapier does not require ammunition to use and does not have any firing mode. Moreover, it cannot decay and cannot be modified. Requirements The Laser Rapier requires Energy Weapons skill level 4 and Agility 3 to use. No research is required. Damage Table Strategies General Melee Strategies *Strength can greatly increase the damage of a melee weapon, and thus should be on a high priority. *Both the Lethal Weapon and the Smasher O/S Upgrades can greatly increase the damage output of a melee weapon, and should come in handy throughout the whole game. *Observe the attack patterns of enemies and always try to evade when they are about to strike. Agility can make the job easier for an obvious reason. *Shotgun Hybrids are one of the tougher opponents on early stages, as they have hitscan weapons, and are hard to defeat without taking any damage if one approaches them. However, the player can exploit their AI behaviors, hide behind a corner and lure them into close range. *Enemies with no melee attack at all, including most droids, always prioritize getting some distance before attacking. That means as long as one stays very close to the enemy, it will keep walking back instead of attacking the player, giving the player enough time to defeat it. This strategy stops working when an enemy does not have enough space to flee. **This also applies to Cyborg Assassins, however they can fall back at a very high speed, and may put the player in a worse situation. *Protocol Droids are very hard, if not impossible, to defeat with melee weapons safely, therefore keeping a ranged weapon in one's inventory is advised. *Contrary to popular belief, O.S.A. Agent is arguably the best class to specialize in any melee weapon, as one can unlock the following psionic disciplines at the beginning: **Psychogenic Agility which can be used to catch up the speed with Cyborg Assassins on early levels. **Adrenaline Overproduction which can increase melee damage by 13%-830% once being activated, according to one's Psionic level, and the player can literally smash any foe in one hit; **Localised Pyrokinesis which makes the player immune to the explosion of Protocol Droids or any droids, and eliminates the greatest threat of any melee weapon user. Laser Rapier Specific *It is the only melee weapon that deals bonus damage to fully mechanical targets, which is also its major advantage over the Crystal Shard. **However, it does not deal extra damage to half mechanical opponents, including Cyborg Assassins and Cyborg Midwives. *Also, except Cerebro-Energetic Extension, it is the only melee weapon which can damage the final boss. *The greatest drawback of this weapon is that, it inflicts half damage on pure Annelid creatures, namely Arachnids. Considering how dangerous those enemies are in close range, the Laser Rapier is one of the least practical weapons to fight against them. **The Wrench can deal over 85% more damage to Arachnids than the Laser Rapier, but has a much shorter hitting range. Whether keeping a Wrench is essential depends on one's habit. *On lower difficulties, upgrades are inexpensive and a melee specialist may consider obtaining both a Laser Rapier and a Crystal Shard.